Crawley Brothers Love Winning Together
by Jim Bainbridge | Oct 03, 2015
By Ted Harbin/for the Waller County Fair and Rodeo committee
HEMPSTEAD, Texas – There’s only one thing better than competing together for saddle bronc riding brothers Jacobs and Sterling Crawling: Winning together.
“It’s great that we both ride broncs because we have two chances, and the rest just have one,” said Sterling Crawley, a two-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifier from Stephenville, Texas.
The two cowboys moved toward the top of the leaderboard on Oct. 2 during the second performance of the Waller County Fair and Rodeo. Sterling rode Pete Carr’s Northern Spy, while Jacobs matched moves with Carr’s Disco, both scoring 76 points to move into a three-way tie for second place with Justin Caylor of Sulphur Springs, Texas.
“I want the best for him and to have success,” Jacobs Crawley said of his younger brother. “Anytime we can split like that, I like seeing him win. I just want to catch him.”
Jacobs Crawley is a five-time NFR qualifier now living in Burney, Texas. He won the coveted average championship at ProRodeo’s grand finale in 2013 and has proven to be one of the elite bronc riders in the game for several years.
Both Crawleys have had past success at the Waller County Fairgrounds in Hempstead, which is a big reason why they return every October. But there are other reasons.
“I love this rodeo,” Sterling said. “I’ve watched it improve every year, and the way you’re treated here is phenomenal.”
For men who make a living on the rodeo trail, being able to compete close to home is big.
“Hempstead is a great rodeo and a Texas rodeo,” Jacobs said. “We’re from Texas, so it’s good for our circuit, plus Pete’s got good horses for us to get on. They have great crowds, and they love the rodeo here.
“I also love this rodeo because we’ve just come off some of the highest pressure rodeos at the end of the year. This is nice because it’s a new season; it’s a new page. We’re all starting from scratch, and there are a lot of rodeos to be had. You get to enjoy bronc riding in the most organic form.”
Of course, doing well at a big-money rodeo to kick start the 2016 season is important, too.
“It means a whole bunch, because things have been rough this year after I came back from my groin injury,” Sterling said. “It’s nice to come to the first rodeo of the year and do good.”
Courtesy of PRCA